NBA TV staking claim to Tuesday, giving Rashad host duties

NBA TV is looking to make
Tuesdays its signature night this season and will have the recognizable Ahmad
Rashad host its pregame, halftime and postgame shows.

In putting out a big effort
to hype its Tuesday night coverage, NBA TV executives are trying to replicate
the success TNT has had with its Thursday night NBA programming and ESPN’s
Wednesday and Friday nights.

“We’re looking to get a
little more pop and a little more press for our shows,” said Steve Herbst, NBA
TV’s general manager.

Rashad will kick off the
season on Tuesday, Oct. 31, in Miami, as the defending champion Miami Heat host
the Chicago Bulls. He will host a pregame show at 6 p.m. ET that leads into
TNT’s own pregame offering. TNT will telecast the game.

For the rest of the season
through the playoffs, Rashad will host the Tuesday night shows from NBA TV’s
Secaucus, N.J., studios. Plans call for taking the show on the road during the
NBA Finals.

“We want to get Ahmad
involved more on the network,” said Danny Meiseles, NBA Entertainment senior
vice president of production and programming. “We want to give him a night and
make it a happening.”

NBA TV executives plan to
take advantage of the close relationships Rashad has cultivated throughout the
league as host of shows such as “NBA Inside Stuff.”

“Ahmad is someone people
involved with the NBA want to come in and kick it with,” Meiseles said.